twitch_tvfandomcom-20200214-history
Getting Started
Outline Warning: This guide is very long. So there is a tl;dr version here. There are three basic steps in this guide. 1. Setup of broadcasting 2. Design layout (broadcast and TTV page) 3. Etiquette and Behavior (and rules) 1. Setup Broadcasting Once upon a time, streaming was a difficult thing, but not anymore. There are two major programs used to stream nowadays, OBS and XSplit. The OBS guide is here. And the XSplit guide is here. 2. Design layout While there are plenty of ways to personalize your stream and channel, I have seen many bad designs, just check out @BadLayouts on Twitter. That's where this part fits in. You can choose to design your own layout (best option), or you can study and try out other streamers layouts. *Learn basics of OBS design *Learn basics of XSplit design *List of Stream Designs/Tutorials 3. Etiquette, etc. There are a couple rules for Twitch you need to know: *You must be 13+ years of age to use Twitch *You don't accept donations, you accept "tips" *You can be banned for spam or hate or harassment *You generally want to ask permission before "raiding" a channel. *Have fun! The have fun rule is the most important rule. If you aren't having fun, then your viewers aren't either. Do what you like to do and be yourself. Even if you don't get many viewers at first, you can still have fun broadcasting. One thing you will need in your channel is a moderator. When starting out you don't really need many. You can also get a chat bot, but try not to make the bot very strict. People (especially in small channels) don't like things like caps/symbols/emote filters. Link filters are acceptable. Some bots are MooBot, NightBot, and XanBot. Twitch has a good guide for moderators: help.twitch.tv/moderation-guide---broadcaster If you are wondering about how to get viewers and the like, here: I'm just going to use a quote from opnerd on the Twitch forums: : I'm going to add my two-bits here based upon my personal experiences; much of what I'll say will mirror what's already posted above. FYI, as of this posting, I have approximately 1150 followers and I am now peaking at 150+ concurrent viewers when I stream. * When I first started streaming, there was obviously nobody watching, but I acted as if I had viewers by constantly talking. A lot of what I said was what normally would have been internal dialogue. For example, if I was stumped by a puzzle in a game, instead if just *thinking* to myself, "Hmmm, I wonder what I need to do here?", I would actually verbalize it. It's good to get into the practice of talking all the time, because live commentary and interaction with streamers/viewers are generally why people come to Twitch.tv, otherwise they would just watch recorded footage elsewhere or play the game themselves. As you begin to pick up a few viewers, you'll never have a lack of anything to talk about, because viewers will be asking you questions (which, by the way, you should answer), and viewers will be making comments in the chat channel that you can respond to, and you can even ask questions of them ("Oh, you're also playing Skyrim? What kind of character are you playing?"). * Related to the above, be sure to monitor the chat in your stream and *respond to it* in a timely manner. If you are streaming PC games, having at least two monitors is a great help--one to play your game on, and one to keep an eye on your chat (along with other things, such as the software you use to stream with). Doing this while playing a game is a skill that will take practice, and doing so when you only have 2 or 3 people chatting in your channel is much easier than when you have 50 people chatting away and asking questions. Take advantage of your initial low-viewer numbers to level up this skill. :) * Get used to the idea that, as you pick up viewers, the new viewers are going to ask questions that you have already answered many times, sometimes just minutes ago. "What type of character are you playing?" "What are your system specs?" Remember, they just got here, and you probably want to keep them in your channel! Answer their questions--again--and to help you with this matter in the future, read below. * Twitch lets you fill that big empty space below your stream window with information, so do it! It's the perfect place to tell everyone a little bit about yourself, what games you play, and to provide answers to some of the frequently asked questions that new viewers inevitably ask you. Among other things, you can use custom graphics to personalize the look and feel, and you can include hyperlinks. * Try to have a regular streaming schedule that viewers can count on. A lot of people would give up on watching their favorite TV show if it aired on a different day and at a different time every week; why should watching your stream be any different? If your viewers know that you will be streaming every Tuesday at 7 PM, they will be there. * If you need to go AFK during your stream (such as for a quick restroom break), don't just leave you viewers hanging. If you stream using software such as XSplit or OBS, you can create multiple "scenes", so create a scene specifically for your breaks. I use screenshots from my game that include a message saying something like, "I'll be right back after this break", I have music playing in the background, and I even superimpose a countdown timer that shows how long I'll be away. * Take advantage of other social media outlets. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are a great means of letting people know what you're doing, and Twitch even has settings that automatically create posts on these sites every time you start streaming. If you are also a member of any gaming related forums anywhere, promote your stream there as well. * If any of your viewers have their own streams, reciprocate at least every once in a while by visiting their channel, participating in their chat room, and giving them a shout-out on your channel. When you're done streaming for the day, see if anyone you follow is streaming and, if so, recommend their channel to your viewers. : This was all I could think of off the top of my head. I hope this helps someone. The biggest boost I've seen is a schedule. It doesn't have to be every day, but something like a certain time each day. Also something like "WEEKENDS" is good. You should also say Hello! to everyone who joins your chat. Category:Tutorial